2017/18 final tournament: England

Road to the final

The UEFA European Under-17 Championship consists of three distinct stages: the qualifying round, the elite round and the final tournament. The format changed for 2014/15 with the expansion of the final tournament from eight to 16 teams.

Qualifying roundThe qualifying round, played in autumn, is made up of 13 groups of four countries playing in one-venue mini-tournaments. The top two from each pool progress alongside the four third-placed sides with the best record against the leading pair in their groups.

Elite roundIn the elite round, held in early spring, those 30 qualifiers plus the top two seeds – given a bye this far – compete in eight mini-tournament groups of four. The group winners and seven runners-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their section advance to the finals to join the hosts.

Final tournamentIn the final tournament the contenders are split into four groups of four, with the front two from each proceeding to the knockout phase.

Further details, including the criteria for separating sides that finish level on points in a group, or after 80 minutes in a match, can be found in the official competition regulations.

2017/18 final tournament: England

The 16-team finals in England will run from 4 to 20 May 2018 with the hosts to be joined by 15 qualifiers from the spring elite round.

The top two in each group along with the four third-placed teams with the best record against the leading pair in their section will join Germany and Portugal in the elite round in spring 2018. The elite round draw is on 6 December.

In that round, the eight group winners and seven runners-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their pool will join England in that May's finals.

Social and apps links

The UEFA word, the UEFA logo and all marks related to UEFA competitions, are protected by trademarks and/or copyright of UEFA. No use for commercial purposes may be made of such trademarks. Use of UEFA.com signifies your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.